


Blood In The Snow

by coop500



Category: Days Gone (Video Game)
Genre: Deacon being nice to kids again, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hugging, Non-graphic mentions of killing, Safevore, Softvore, Starts sad but gets happier later, The militia suck, Vague mentions of possible child death, protection fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-12-28 08:47:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21133943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coop500/pseuds/coop500
Summary: After the Militia wipes out a camp of innocent families who set up a bit too close to the Diamond Lake outpost, one member survives and is found by a certain Drifter who happens to also be in the Militia.





	Blood In The Snow

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: This story contains soft, non-fatal and gentle vore, meaning one person swallows another whole, but don't worry no one is harmed by this and it's done in a protective, safekeeping sense.
> 
> Sooo another Days Gone fic! Yay! Sorry that this one starts a bit dark, but I promise it gets fluffy later! I'm glad I managed to finish this one, I've been struggling with having too many ideas and WIPs, but I really like this one since it's a little different than what I often do. Just a little though..

North of Diamond Lake, there was a small camp, tucked behind trees and rocks in the snow covered hills, whoever set it up did their best to stay out of sight from the main road. It made up of four family sized tents and that's exactly what the camp was, four families working together to survive in this harsh world. That is..... until four Militia men came. 

It was a slaughter, even if the families outnumbered them, they lacked the weaponry and training, having simple guns and well... pretty much no training beyond some hunting of game. The fight was over quickly, the red of blood was bold in the pure white snow. However one member of the family camp managed to hide, tucked in a pile of trash that they were going to burn later. It was a little girl, no older than seven years, barely able to keep from sobbing her eyes out as tears poured out. One minute everything was more or less fine, the next... Everyone she knew and loved were dead, slaughtered heartlessly by the Deschutes County Militia, led by a man driven insane into believing all outsider camps and groups were evil and must be wiped out, thinking he was on some mission from God or something. Her friends and family never harmed anyone before, they were not raiders or robbers, they just stuck to themselves, hunted the occasional deer but that was it.

The girl couldn't understand why, why were they slaughtered? They avoided conflict or bothering anyone, surely the monsters, or Freaks as often called by the adults should have been the target, not them. Even after the four Militia members left, she stayed hidden, crying for at least a few hours. Of course in the meantime, drawn to the smell of blood and flesh, animals and Freakers alike came to feast on the carnage, making even more of a unsettling mess. And the child was helpless to stop it, all she could do was make sure that she wasn't spotted, which was hard as day turned to night, it became so cold out, especially in this snow. Thankfully it snowed during the night, which made it a little warmer than if it was a clear night, still it was plenty cold as she huddled up and did her best to tough it out. 

By sunrise the scavengers left, leaving behind bloody bones and shreds of clothing in their wake. The child's fingers, toes and face were numb from the cold and she knew she'd have to make a fire and gather some food. The Militia stole all their firewood and foodstuffs, so she had to go out and gather it on her own. The idea was scary and she wasn't even sure if she could do it, but... She had to do something, her parents would want her to still try to survive, despite what they did... At least the Freakers killed to eat, why did the Militia harm them? Surely they had more than enough supplies, plus if they simply asked they would share, she didn't understand this... holy war that they were on. 

Her tears from the night before froze to her cheeks, but as she came out of the trash pile and saw the carnage left behind in greater detail, hot fresh tears came trickling out, running over her cold cheeks and providing some warmth, in a sense. Suddenly, she heard a stick snap and natural self preservation kicked in, causing her to scurry off into some bushes nearby, before she turned around and watched to see what caused it. In the end it wasn't a cause for alarm, it was just a young deer, nibbling on whatever grass it could reach through the snow. The child relaxed and decided to head out for firewood, she was tired of being cold. 

Being a little girl, she was limited on how much and what kind of wood she could carry, there was no chopping up nice rounds or anything, all she could do was gather fallen branches, attempting to go for the dry ones but she had to get a few wet ones and hope that they will dry in due time. Each time her arms got full she made her way back to the family camp, as they had a fireplace already built, it just needed wood. It took most of the day, but she managed to gather enough wood for the night and a good stash of berries that she knew was safe to eat. So as the sun began to fall again, she built her fire, thankfully she found some matches in one of the tents to start it. 

Tonight, it didn't snow, so it was colder than it was the night before and since the Militia stole all sleeping bags and blankets that they had, all she could do was huddle by her fire, nibbling her berries and hope that no other animals or Freakers came by tonight. The fire thankfully kept some things away, however, it also attracted some others...

Back at the Diamond Lake outpost, the Captain there spotted the smoke rising from one of the camps the Colonel ordered to be wiped out, though the Captain didn't realize it was just families and not a group of raiders or anything dangerous. Assuming it was a survivor that could cause trouble, he radioed one of their best men for singular jobs like this. "Corporal St. John? We got a job for you, a simple task but I want it done right. " 

Corporal Deacon St. John was out in the field already, riding his motorcycle over some dirt roads, planning to burn some Freaker nests, but once given the details he decided the nests could wait, this survivor might move on soon and will be even harder to track down. "Alright thanks Captain, I'll be right on it, Corporal St. John out. " He answered as he turned his bike around. However, while he figured the Captain was probably right about it just being a stray Raider or Marauder, he couldn't shake this feeling that something was off. It was a pretty dumb thing to build a fire right where your buddies just got slaughtered about a day ago, that screamed more of a inexperienced survivor or something and Deacon was not in the business of murdering innocents. 

He shook his head, it was probably nothing more than a dumb, cocky Marauder who was about to get a rude awakening. But still he couldn't stop thinking what if it wasn't, and what could he do about it? The ride wasn't too far, but he didn't want to alert whoever it was, so he parked his bike a ways away and decided to go in on foot, using the cover of night to his advantage. Using bushes, trees, rocks and shrubs, he moved quietly and quickly, smelling the smoke of the fire soon, but he also smelled the carnage too... Day old bodies, even picked clean and in the snow, still had some odor to them. How could anybody stay by that? It was gross, as well as dangerous since it attracted the Freakers, even if they been here once they'll be back for any tiny scraps they missed. 

He saw the campfire but couldn't get a good look at who was tending it, so he quietly dove behind a tent, filled with bullet holes from the attack. That's when he got a better look at the bodies, or what was left anyway, alongside the tents and everything. The gears began to turn in his mind as he crept closer to the survivor, noticing how small they seemed to be, was it... a child? Looking at the bodies again, his stomach turned as it became more and more clear on what really happened, thanks to his tracking skills, among his common sense. Based on where they died and the fact some of the bones were unsettlingly small, this was no camp of Marauders or anything like that, they were families of survivors and the remaining one was a child, probably too devastated by the loss to leave. 

It was a miracle she managed to get the sense up to even build a fire, if only the Militia wasn't so damn bloodthirsty. He wondered how many of them knew what happened here and how many were lied to about what happened and who they were, that they were just innocent families that were heartlessly slaughtered. Given that it was just a kid, he put away his knife and slowly stood up, planning to try and talk to her and he didn't want to scare her by sneaking right up to her. 

"Hey there kid. " He said in a casual, friendly voice, hoping she was in the mood to make a new friend or something. She did jump, startled that someone was behind her, even if he was a little ways away. She looked ready to bolt, fear and horror was in her eyes and on her face once she turned towards him, he couldn't tell if all of it was because of him or not. "W-who are you? " She asked warily. 

"Well my name is Deacon St. John... uh, who are you? " He asked, taking a slow step forward, testing his boundaries. The girl did stiffen and cower away a little, clearly afraid of him, possibly because he was a stranger in the middle of the night, so it was pretty understandable. "Saint? A-are you.... are you here to take me to Heaven? " She asked, seeming to assume he was some entity from upstairs. Of course he wasn't, he was just a man. "Oh and I'm K-Kelly." 

Deacon blinked to the question, before shaking his head. "No no it's- it's just my name. I'm actually-" He was about to explain that he was a Drifter and wanted to lend her a hand, but he forgot one important, vital detail. The red armband on his right arm, the child saw it right at that moment and as if she didn't look frightened enough before, now it looked as if she was staring at the Devil. "Y-y-you're Militia? " She asked, though it wasn't so much of a question as it was a statement. 

He opened his mouth to explain, but he wasn't sure where to start. "No I'm not- well I mean, yeah I joined them but it's not because I like them or agree with what they do. " He tried to tell her, but she clearly wasn't having any of it as fresh tears formed up in her eyes, while she scrambled back away from him. Thankfully he was off to one side of her so she didn't scramble back into the fire she had, but she was moving away from it, which wasn't very safe. There was still snow up here and it was cold out, very cold. "S-stay away! " She yelled at him, as if he was some kind of monster. 

It hurt and he had the urge to tear this blasted armband off and toss it into the fire, but he joined them for a very important, to him, reason. Still, nothing was going to make him harm an innocent child, he rather die first, hang for disobeying an order, since that was how the Militia worked. They hanged anyone who deserted, disobeyed, or murdered any of their own. By all intents and purposes, by not harming her he was disobeying an order, but he didn't care. "Please Kelly, I'm not going to hurt you, let me help you. " He all but pleaded to her, his voice softening as much as it could.

But it did no good, for soon Kelly scrambled to her feet, turned around and ran as fast as she could into the snow blanketed forest. "No wait! Come back! " He called after her, but she was too frightened to stop, believing that she was running for her life. Deacon took just a second to decide on what he should do and as much as it didn't set well with him, he saw no other choice than to chase after her. She was going to freeze to death out there or get caught by Freakers if he didn't. "Goddamn it. " He cursed to himself as he broke out into a run. 

The forest was something of a maze once one got away from the roads, with trees and brush in the way and all. At first he didn't see where she was, but then he watched the moving brush and figured that had to be her. The two ran for a good few minutes, before Kelly's coat got caught on a branch. She squirmed and struggled to get free but it snagged her pretty good, though when she looked back and saw Deacon was coming, she gave up and shed her coat, leaving it on the branch and fleeing again. 

Deacon thought he might catch her when she got caught, but she left her coat behind instead, reducing her warmth even further. "Shit!" He cursed again as he picked up the pace. The child was getting tired and he was still more or less fine, so it didn't take long for him to start gaining ground on her. "Please Kelly, stop before you get hurt! " He called to her in concern, knowing she could trip over something and hurt herself pretty bad if she wasn't careful. 

She ignored him and kept running, turning around a fairly large tree, before Deacon heard a yelp and a thunk, followed by a splash. Oh no... his heart sank to his stomach as he rushed to the scene, whipping around the tree to see what happened. 

Just as he feared, the child did end up tripping over a rock and she landed in a fairly deep puddle, becoming soaking wet. Her leg was hurt as she didn't stand, instead she crawled out and made her way towards a tree. "Oh Kelly... " He said softly, walking up to her before he crouched. "N-no! Go away! " She reached out to push him away, but it was a weak shove and he didn't budge. "No I will not, you're hurt and now soaking wet. " In other words, without help she'll very likely perish out here due to the cold.

Kelly was frightened, confused and still devastated over what happened, it was all too much for a child to take and it wasn't much longer before she began to cry, using her hands to cover her face as sobs wracked her body. "T-they're dead.... my mommy, m-my daddy, my b-big brother... Ms Pepper w-who used to bake b-bearberry pies for us... T-they are all gone M-mister Deacon... " She said as he checked her leg, hoping it was just strained and not broken. But it became clear that, even if her leg was broken, something else in the child was already shattered to pieces. Far as he could tell, it was just a strain and she'd feel better in a few days, but... he was faced with two other problems, her emotional state and the fact she'll freeze to death out here, soaking wet, without a coat. 

He wasn't good with comforting others, in the last two years he didn't really have much chance to, so it was easy to forget how. He remembered Lisa though, the young lady he saved some time ago, she had a habit of hugging him for comfort. So he decided to try that and hoped Kelly wouldn't push him away. With a deep breath, he reached towards her and carefully picked her up in his arms, just enough to bring her close to him and wrap his arms loosely around her, not wanting her to feel like she was trapped. 

Thankfully for him, the child was desperate for someone to hold her, even if it was someone who she thought was bad, she wasn't so sure now. She was eager to wrap her arms around him and nestle her face into his chest, sobbing into him. The wounds of her loss was still so fresh, only little over a day and she only had a small time to grieve. He opened up his green jacket and wrapped the loose sides around her the best he could to help hold in some bit of warmth. With a sigh, he said the only thing he could think of to say. "I'm so sorry for your loss Kelly... " He said quietly, but sincerely. 

The wee child snuggled into him further, cold and lonely. She didn't answer him, but she did appreciate his kind words, she also kinda felt bad using him as a giant napkin, with as much she was crying and all, he probably had tears and snot all over him now. She didn't understand why he was being nice to her, he was a part of the same group that heartlessly slaughtered her family and everyone she knew, while he was nicely hugging her and comforting her. Kelly was starting to feel the cold and her being soaking wet getting to her as she began to shiver, a pitiful whimper coming out of her, followed with some more sniffs and a quiet sob. 

Deacon knew she needed warmth, more than his body could provide her, at least, like this. He could either try to carry her back to her fire, or... There was a second option, one he'd probably have to end up doing anyway even if he did bring her back. It solved numerous problems at once, for one thing she couldn't be seen by other Militia, the ones who killed her family will recognize her and know he didn't do his job. He had a feeling that if Captain Kouri knew it was a child, he'd understand, but the Colonel? He was dedicated and just a bit crazy, so likely not. So he had to keep her warm, hidden and yet, bring her with him so he could protect her and take her to a safe and caring camp, not of the Militia, but when he finally got out of here, maybe he could... at least convince Rikki of Lost Lake to take her back, like he did with Lisa. 

After giving her a few more minutes, he decided to speak up, namely when he noticed she wasn't sobbing much anymore. "Kelly uh... we can't stay here, just so you know... And you need to warm up. I know of somewhere you can stay, but uh... you'll have to trust me... a lot. " He admitted, not really wanting her to tell her in words what he had in mind, every time he said it he found the words foreign and crazy. But he still wanted to be honest with her, it did require her to trust him with her life. He felt her pull away from him just enough to look up at his face, to see the unsure, almost nervous expression he had. He was worried about scaring her again and making her want to run away, if he didn't help her here and now, she won't make it. But if the child didn't trust him, there wasn't a whole lot he could do about it, at least within his morals. 

Kelly was a little unsure, but he could have easily harmed her by now and he hadn't, so... that proved a lot already. Plus she knew he was right, she was getting colder, despite the warmth his coat and body gave her from the outside, it wasn't enough, not when she was soaking wet, no jacket of her own, a long walk away from her fire and it was the dead of night. She had no idea where or what he had in mind though, but she was willing to hear him out before she decided. "C-can... can you s-show me? " She asked, using the heel of her hand to wipe at her eyes, to clear up her vision. She was still quite upset, but it was a bit more controllable now. 

Deacon opened his mouth to say something, surprised and unsure what to even say, how was he going to show her? "Well uh... I guess I can? Um... " He trailed off, wondering how he was going to do that without just... doing it and by then it was kinda too late for her to say no. Suddenly an idea hit him and he glanced at her hands, before he used one hand to gently hold one of her's. "I'll uhm… do your arms first and then stop, you... you can tell me if you want me to continue. " It was the only way he could think of and he just hoped it was good enough of a 'test run' for her not to feel as if he tricked her or anything. 

He waited for some form of agreement or confirmation from her and it took a moment or two, but soon she nodded, though she was unsure what to do. Deacon smiled gently, brown eyes softening as he tried to show he meant her no harm while he unwrapped his other arm from around her to gently take her wrists, lifting them up to his face. "If you want me to stop at any time, just say the word. " He didn't want to force her into anything, so he wanted to make it clear that it was up to her, though if she did say no he wasn't sure what he was going to do to help her. He supposed the best thing would be to carry her back to her fire and go from there. 

Kelly swallowed and braced herself, trying to figure out what he was going to do before he did it, but she didn't really have a clue. She nodded in acknowledgement and waited, watching with wide, glassy blue eyes as he took a deep breath, as if he was bracing himself too, before he held her hands together and opened his mouth, slowly sliding them both inside. Kelly was confused, but his warm, almost hot breath felt nice on her cold little fingers. His tongue was soft, though slimy and wet, but she was already wet so it didn't make a whole lot of difference. 

Just as Kelly was trying to figure out what he was doing, he swallowed, her hands and wrists fully slipped out of his hands and into his throat, while her arms was partway into his jaws. Was his plan to... eat her? Could he even do that? She admitted her reflex action was to pull her arms out of his mouth, it was only natural to avoid being consumed, especially whole. But she didn't, his throat was soft, almost plush with a slick, velvet like feel, it was amazing. If it was like that in his tummy, then she'd probably be quite happy inside. 

Deacon was nervous, expecting her to scream and pull away at any second now. Not that he'd blame her, he was basically eating her, but he was only going to go up to her shoulders and then stop, pull her out and they could talk it over further. He felt her fingers wiggle around in his gullet, but not in a panicked manner, it was almost as if she was feeling around and maybe, hopefully she liked what she felt. It was quite cozy inside of him, at least, as he heard from others that he swallowed up. He just had to take their word, he didn't see why they'd lie. 

He could only delay for so long, so he softly swallowed again, her arms sinking further down inside of him, her hands easing closer to his belly, but her arms were not long enough to reach it unless he swallowed her down further, but if he did, her head would be in his mouth or even throat. The deeper her hands went though, the warmer it got, Kelly wouldn't have minded too much if he just went ahead and proceeded with swallowing her up. It was soft and warm and she assumed he wouldn't be showing her this if it wasn't safe, so to her it seemed perfect. She could tell he was trying to be really careful with her and that showed he cared, that he wasn't like the other Militia men, so she just waited to see what he'd do now.

What Deacon did was keep his promise, that this was only a 'trial run' and he wanted to hear if she was okay, or was it too scary, asking for too much faith in him. The urge to swallow again was strong, but he resisted as long as he could, feeling his throat muscles ripple and knead over her hands and arms, wanting to just tug her down deeper inside of him, but not forcefully. Soon he couldn't resist any longer and gently held her shoulders, before he pulled back slowly, releasing her arms from his jaws and gullet, coated in warm slime, but otherwise unharmed. 

Once his mouth was empty, he wiped his face with his own arm, letting her shoulders go and instead curling his arms back around her again, loosely, to keep her warm. The man then took a deep breath, unsure what to expect from the little one. "So uh- There you have it, my... plan to, well, I guess eat you whole... " He trailed off awkwardly, clearly worried that he scared Kelly with that display, and also still minorly unsettled himself. He's done it before, true, but it still wasn't exactly normal and she'd have to stay inside for a while, since he didn't even know of a safe place to take her to around here. Before it was a lot easier, take whoever he swallowed up to Lost Lake and he was done, but it wasn't so easy now. 

Kelly would be lying if she didn't admit that there was a spike of fear to hear him put it to words, eat her whole, not just crawl in a soft slimy sleeping bag, but she was actually being devoured by another living being and she'd be trapped inside of him, at his mercy. She looked at her arms, as if inspecting for signs of damage, even though they didn't even reach his stomach. But all she saw was that clear, gooey slime that coated his throat and now soaked her sleeves. "I-it... was so soft... " She muttered in awe, the cold, lonely side of her wanted to just curl up in his tummy without a care, let the nice man, Deacon, protect her. Her emotional state was pretty messed up and it'd probably do her a lot of good to just be safe and sound for awhile, with the only possible friend she had left. 

Then there was the nagging instinct still, at the back of her mind, that kept reminding her he wore that Militia armband, that he could be tricking her into being a nice filling meal, or bring her back to them. But even if all that were true, what choice did she have? He could still force her back, if he had a mind to, or he could just leave her here and let the cold claim her life. And she recalled the thoughts she had when her arms were in his throat, how soft and plush it was and how she figured he couldn't be this nice about it and still have malicious intentions. She leaned against him further, unsure how to tell him to go ahead and send her inside. 

After thinking it over one last time, she looked up at Deacon, seeing his concerned, soft expression, which gave her the last bit of convincing she needed to speak her mind. "I trust you, please just... keep me safe. " The child said, doing her best to relax. She could feel Deacon relax too, his whole body was tense before, something she didn't notice until now, but now that she gave him permission to proceed, he didn't have to be worried. "I will, don't worry. " She heard him say, his voice still friendly and gentle sounding. 

He released his hug again to gently grab her hands, repeating the process of putting them in his mouth, then swallowing them down. She felt the familiar feel of soft flesh rippling over her hands and arms soon after. But Kelly kept still, even if he swallowed up her arms quicker than he did before, it didn't hurt or really scare her. The only thing that made her a tiny bit nervous for a second was when her head began to ease into his jaws. The child closed her eyes then, feeling the plush muscle enclose around her head, slime getting into her hair, but the warmth also soothed her poor ears, cheeks and nose.

The sounds of wet tissue moving and flexing, alongside the sounds of gulping and swallowing filled her ears. It wasn't overly loud on it's own, but it did soon become the only thing she could hear for awhile, until she heard a inner thumping noise, in a rhythm. Was that his heart? It made sense, as her head was easing into his chest and her hands slipped through a ring of muscle, the entrance to his stomach. It was spacious, but something told her not as spacious as it may seem. Still, given how soft everything was, it could stretch to accommodate her. 

Meanwhile, Deacon was doing his best to take it slow, but he still had to do it in a decent amount of time. One possible danger was someone calling his radio and checking to see how he was doing on this job they sent him on and well... With a child halfway down his throat he couldn't really answer them and he didn't really want to get into that awkward conversation. Plus there was the whole issue with breathing, as the child, while fit okay in his chest, did block his breathing while she was there. Thankfully Kelly was mostly still, so all he had to do was focus on being gentle with her and swallowing her down. 

Gulp after gulp, she rather quickly, though it didn't feel quick to her, vanished down his throat, her head easing into his stomach next, followed by her shoulders and chest. She opened her eyes then, but it was so dark inside of Deacon that she couldn't really see anything, though it was so warm and soft it didn't matter that much, just as she had hoped it'd be. With gravity on Deacon's side now, it didn't take long for the rest of her to spill down into his stomach, in which the little one shifted around to get upright. Moving around in here was a little odd, the flesh squished around her and it was sort of like a water bed, but it was so cozy and snug. 

For Deacon it was like swallowing a 60LB ice cube, a cute ice cube but still. A shiver went up his spine from the cold deep inside of him and part of him was worried he'd get brain freeze. He rubbed his forehead with one hand, while the other rested on his full belly. Now he just had to hope that the little girl didn't regret her choice, she was safe and sound now, but he wasn't about to force her to stay in there if she didn't want to. "Hey uh... Kelly? Are you alright? " He asked, if a little awkwardly since... well, he couldn't see her, so he was basically talking to a bulge in his middle, but one he knew contained a very alive person. 

At this point Kelly didn't feel any real fear, sure there was the lingering, instinctual being eaten is bad stuff, but she did her best to ignore it. She wasn't sure exactly why or how but... now that she was in his stomach, she just knew that he meant well, that he only wanted to keep her safe. The stomach made some soft gurgling sounds around her, but it didn't sound scary, she knew tummies gurgled sometimes. She then heard his voice, concerned like before, timid almost, as if he was afraid she'd be upset. She wasn't though and Kelly found herself smiling a little, rubbing one of the soft belly walls around her before she answered. "I'm okay mister Deacon. Your belly.... it makes me feel safe. " She told him, hoping to ease his worries a little. 

It did, as well as the soft rubbing from within. He smiled too and gently rubbed the lump in his middle back, a warm, fuzzy feeling forming in his heart. In all the killing and struggle for survival in this world, it felt nice to be able to save a life this time, instead of taking one. "So you... you won't mind staying in my belly for... like, a week until I get out of here and can take you to a nicer camp? " He asked, knowing that such a long time might be too much to ask. Of course he will try to find time to let her out, when it was safe enough, but for the majority of the time, Kelly would have to stay tucked away in his belly for her own safety. Just then, an amusing thought crossed Deacon's mind, as he noticed one ironic detail... He chuckled to himself quietly, but otherwise didn't say anything about it. 

A week of being curled up in this soft, squishy tummy of his? The stomach churned gently around her just then, the soft, protective muscle rippling and kneading briefly. The little one found herself not minding it, for it continued to just make her feel safe, hidden from the harshness of the world, even if it was slimy and dark in here. "No I wouldn't mind, I trust you. " She told him with confidence, but she did tilt her head when she heard him laugh, what was so funny? "What? " She asked, but not rudely, the child was merely curious on what amused her protector. 

Deacon snickered again, before he answered. "Kelly in my belly? It rhymes! " He exclaimed, clearly amused by that little detail, followed with a few more soft belly rubs. "Okay okay, I'll try to let you out when it's safe enough to but you'll have to stay in there most of the time. " He explained, attempting to be serious again but his voice still held that hint of amusement. The child giggling within him didn't help in him being serious either, but he was glad she found it funny too and it wasn't just him.

It was a bit funny and for some reason gave her this sense of belonging, not in a bad way, but she just felt... better, nestled in the nice man's tummy. "Okay, thank you mister Deacon, I'll be fine in here. " She assured him, knowing he was probably still a little stressed about her, he seemed to really care, which was nice considering what she'd been through. She tried not to think about that and just focus on the soft, squishy warmth around her, not wanting to get sad again. She felt her world shift and raise up, which had her assume he was standing. It was a bit surreal, feeling every muscle flex and shift of his abdomen around her.

Deacon made sure to move slowly, not wanting to jar the kid as he walked. He was a ways away from his bike now so he had some walking to do, but it surprisingly wasn't that hard to walk even with his new... cargo. He wouldn't want to alert a Horde right now, but even then he still felt like he could handle it if he really had to. Which was good... considering he probably will have to eventually. He felt the little one shift some every so often, possibly trying to find just the right position. "Are you alright in there, Kelly? " He asked, making sure that she wasn't having trouble being comfortable. 

He got his answer soon, as she stopped moving and relaxed. "Yeah it's okay, thank you. " She kindly answered, before he heard a content, muffled sigh from her. He softly smiled again before he looked where he was walking, seeing her camp off to his left, but his bike was down the hill, to his right. So he veered that way, carefully stumbling down the hill while keeping his eyes peeled for wildlife. Those mountain lions can seemingly come out of nowhere and he had to always be prepared. 

Suddenly, he noticed his radio was coming to life on his jacket. "Corporal St. John, this is Captain Kouri, come in. " He found some good footholds on the hill to step in, where he felt stable enough, before he held the radio button and answered. "Captain, I'm here. " He knew what he wanted to know, but waited for him to ask anyway. "Did you take care of that camp on the hill, north of here? " Deacon scrambled internally on what to say, in a sense he did... But not in the sense they wanted. Still, he wasn't above lying for the life of another, especially a wee child. "Yes sir, the target has been neutralized, she won't be a bother to you. " As he said this, he made sure to give a comforting rub to his stomach, to make sure the child didn't believe him or freak out. 

"Good work St. John, Kouri out. " And with that the radio was dead. He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, before he carried on down the hill, seeing his bike at the bottom. "Sorry about that kiddo, they always require reports on this stuff... But if we keep our heads down they won't notice the difference. " He explained to her as he finally neared the bottom. 

Kelly understood though, she sort of expected something like that, though more so in person, of course in person might still happen too. "It's okay, I'm not worried. " She assured him, giving a few soft snuggles to the stomach around her. His voice changed a bit between talking to her and talking to that other man though, he could tell his voice was more genuine with her, while with this... Captain Kouri, he was trying to be professional and cold. 

He was glad she didn't take his words seriously and gave his middle a few light pats, before he mounted up onto his motorcycle and started it up. The engine was quiet, but his belly was sort of on it a little, so the vibration of the bike probably made it's way to her. Still, it was a gentle vibration, the bike was built to be quiet after all, to not alert more Freaks than he had to. He walked the bike backwards a bit before giving it some gas, turning around and heading back onto the road. The wee girl was still and calm inside of him, in fact he was quite sure that merely a few minutes on the road, she fell asleep. Between the warmth of his stomach and the gentle rumble of his bike, it was the perfect combo to make the little one sleepy. He didn't mind though, he just hoped in due time, she will be able to have a place to call home again besides his belly.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Feel free to tell me your thoughts, good or bad, below!


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